Severity prediction system and method

ABSTRACT

A system for detecting one or more characteristics of an object within an automotive vehicle includes one or more sensors mounted within an interior of the vehicle or on an exterior of the vehicle, with each sensor being configured to detect a location, an orientation, a size and/or an object type of the object, and a controller operably connected with the one or more sensors and configured to assess whether the object is disposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition. A method for detecting characteristics of the object within the vehicle includes determining the location, orientation, size and/or object type of the object using the one or more sensors, and assessing whether the object is disposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition.

INTRODUCTION

This disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for detectingone or more characteristics of an object within an automotive vehiclefor the purpose of injury severity prediction.

In some automotive vehicles, one or more cameras or other sensors may beprovided for the safety or convenience of the driver. For example, somevehicles are equipped with sensors or cameras mounted on the exterior ofthe vehicle that aid with parking, backing up, changing lanes and thelike. Additionally, cameras or sensors may be provided within theinterior cabin of the vehicle to monitor the eyes of the driver so thatthe driver may be alerted if it is detected that the driver's eyes havebeen closed for longer than normal or the driver's head is nodding,which can indicate that the driver may be falling asleep.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a method for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object within an automotive vehicle includes:determining one or more of a location, an orientation, a size and anobject type of the object within the vehicle using one or more sensors,wherein each of the one or more sensors is mounted within an interior ofthe vehicle or on an exterior of the vehicle; and assessing whether theobject is disposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition.

If the object is assessed as being disposed in a predeterminedalertworthy disposition, then a visual or auditory alert may be providedwithin the vehicle of the alertworthy disposition of the object.Additionally, a visual or auditory corrective action suggestion may beprovided within the vehicle for mitigating the alertworthy disposition.

The one or more sensors may be at least one of an interior cameramounted within the interior of the vehicle, an exterior camera mountedon the exterior of the vehicle, a RADAR device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle, a LiDAR device mounted within the interior ofthe vehicle, an ultrasonic device mounted within the interior of thevehicle, a seat occupancy sensor mounted in a seat within the interiorof the vehicle, and a seat position sensor mounted in the seat withinthe interior of the vehicle.

The predetermined alertworthy disposition may include: (i) if the objectis not a human occupant, then one or more of: (a) being disposed so asto obstruct a view of a driver of the vehicle to a front, a rear or aside of the vehicle, and (b) being disposed so as to have a substantiallikelihood of causing bodily injury to an occupant within the vehicle inthe event of an impact event; or (ii) if the object is a human occupant,then one or more of: (w) at least one foot of the occupant resting on adashboard of the vehicle, (x) a body of the occupant being less than apredetermined minimum distance away from a steering wheel of thevehicle, (y) the body of the occupant facing in a non-forward direction,and (z) the occupant being disposed in an orientation and/or a locationthat presents a potential for causing or exacerbating injury to theoccupant in the event of an impact event, wherein the potential isgreater than a predetermined allowable potential.

The object type may include one or more of a non-human physical object,an infant in a forward-facing infant car seat, an infant in arearward-facing infant car seat, a booster-seated human occupant, ahelmet-wearing human occupant, and a non-booster-seated,non-helmet-wearing human occupant. Additionally, the location of theobject may be a location of a centroid of the object.

The method may further include detecting whether a vehicle impact eventhas occurred, and if a vehicle impact event is detected, then thedetermined location, orientation, size and/or object type of the objectmay be wirelessly broadcasted. Additionally, the method may furtherinclude determining an enhanced injury severity prediction based on thewirelessly broadcasted location, orientation, size and/or object type ofthe object, and sending the enhanced injury severity prediction to oneor more first responders. The method may also include storing objectinformation indicative of the determined location, orientation, sizeand/or object type of the object, as well as wirelessly transmittingobject information indicative of the determined location, orientation,size and/or object type of the object.

According to another embodiment, a method for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an occupant within an automotive vehicle includes:(i) determining one or more of a location, an orientation, a size and anoccupant type of the occupant using one or more sensors, wherein each ofthe one or more sensors is an interior camera mounted within an interiorof the vehicle, an exterior camera mounted on an exterior of thevehicle, a RADAR device mounted within the interior of the vehicle, aLiDAR device mounted within the interior of the vehicle or an ultrasonicdevice mounted within the interior of the vehicle; (ii) assessingwhether the occupant is disposed in a predetermined alertworthydisposition; and (iii) if the occupant is assessed as being disposed ina predetermined alertworthy disposition, then providing a visual orauditory alert within the vehicle of the alertworthy disposition of theoccupant.

In this method, the occupant type may include one or more of an infantin a forward-facing infant car seat, an infant in a rearward-facinginfant car seat, a booster-seated human occupant, a helmet-wearing humanoccupant, and a non-booster-seated, non-helmet-wearing human occupant.Additionally, the predetermined alertworthy disposition may include oneor more of the occupant having at least one foot resting on a dashboardof the vehicle, a body of the occupant being less than a predeterminedminimum distance away from a steering wheel of the vehicle, the body ofthe occupant facing in a non-forward direction, and the occupant beingdisposed in an orientation and/or a location that presents a potentialfor causing or exacerbating injury to the occupant in the event of animpact event, wherein the potential is greater than a predeterminedallowable potential.

According to yet another embodiment, a system for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object within an automotive vehicle includes oneor more sensors each mounted within an interior of the vehicle or on anexterior of the vehicle, and a controller operably connected with theone or more sensors. Each of the one or more sensors is configured todetect one or more of a location, an orientation, a size and an objecttype of the object within the vehicle, and the controller is configuredto assess whether the object is disposed in a predetermined alertworthydisposition.

In this system, the one or more sensors may be at least one of aninterior camera mounted within the interior of the vehicle, an exteriorcamera mounted on the exterior of the vehicle, a RADAR device mountedwithin the interior of the vehicle, a LiDAR device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle, an ultrasonic device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle, a seat occupancy sensor mounted in a seatwithin the interior of the vehicle, and a seat position sensor mountedin the seat within the interior of the vehicle.

Additionally in this system, the predetermined alertworthy dispositionmay include: (i) if the object is not a human occupant, then one or moreof: (a) being disposed so as to obstruct a view of a driver of thevehicle to a front, a rear or a side of the vehicle, and (b) beingdisposed so as to have a substantial likelihood of causing bodily injuryto an occupant within the vehicle in the event of an impact event; or(ii) if the object is a human occupant, then one or more of: (w) atleast one foot of the occupant resting on a dashboard of the vehicle,(x) a body of the occupant being less than a predetermined minimumdistance away from a steering wheel of the vehicle, (y) the body of theoccupant facing in a non-forward direction, and (z) the occupant beingdisposed in an orientation and/or a location that presents a potentialfor causing or exacerbating injury to the occupant in the event of animpact event, wherein the potential is greater than a predeterminedallowable potential.

The system may further include a memory operably connected with thecontroller and configured to store object information indicative of thedetermined location, orientation, size and/or object type of the object,as well as a transmitter operably connected with the controller andconfigured to wirelessly transmit object information indicative of thedetermined location, orientation, size and/or object type of the object.The system may also include an alert device operably connected with thecontroller and configured to provide visual or auditory alerts withinthe vehicle of the alertworthy disposition of the object.

The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages, ofthe present teachings are readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of some of the best modes and other embodiments for carryingout the present teachings, as defined in the appended claims, when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object within an automotive vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of an automotive vehicle and a system fordetecting one or more characteristics of an object within the automotivevehicle.

FIG. 3 is an alternative schematic top view of the automotive vehicleand system of FIG. 2 , showing the beam patterns of various sensors orcameras mounted inside or outside the automotive vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of various sensors which may be used in thepresent system and method.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of various object types which may beencountered in the present system and method.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of various orientations or predeterminedalertworthy dispositions which may be encountered in the present systemand method.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of various event data which may be used in thepresent system and method.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an alternative method for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object within an automotive vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like partsin the several views, a system 20 and a method 100 for detecting one ormore characteristics of an object 11 within an automotive vehicle 10 areshown and described herein.

The system 20 and method 100 of the present disclosure provide features,benefits and technical advantages not provided by previously orcurrently available systems and methods. For example, the system 20 andmethod 100 may utilize cameras and sensors 56 that are mounted inside oroutside the vehicle 10 to detect any number of predetermined alertworthydispositions 89 of the objects 11 within the vehicle. These objects 11may be human occupants, or they may be physical objects that may pose athreat or compromise to the safety of the occupants. The cameras orsensors 56 may be devices that are already installed on the interior 16or exterior 18 of the vehicle 10 for other purposes (e.g., parking,proximity sensing, etc.) and which are also utilized for the system 20and method 100 described herein, or they may be cameras or sensors 56that are added to the vehicle 10 specifically for the system 20 andmethod 100 described herein.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a method 100 for detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object 11 within an automotive vehicle 10, andFIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of a corresponding system 20 fordetecting the one or more characteristics of the object 11. Turningfirst to FIG. 2 , the vehicle 10 is shown having a front 12 defining aforward direction, a rear 13 defining a rearward direction, and left andright sides 14 defining left and right sideward directions. A dashedline forming a generally rounded rectangle 15 is shown encircling thefront dashboard 26 and the rear deck 30, with the rounded rectangle 15bordering the interior side of the front windshield 34 in the forwarddirection and bordering the interior side of the rear windshield 36 inthe rearward direction. This dashed rounded rectangle 15 defines aninterior 16 or cabin compartment inside the rounded rectangle 15 withinwhich occupants (i.e., a driver and one or more passengers) may beseated, and an exterior 18 outside the cabin compartment.

The vehicle 10 also includes a front-left seat 22, a front-right seat 24and one or more rear seats 28. The configuration shown in FIGS. 2-3 isof a “left-hand drive” vehicle 10, in which the driver is seated in thefront-left seat 22 behind a steering wheel 38 or other steeringapparatus (e.g., a joystick). However, the teachings of the presentdisclosure apply equally to “right-hand drive” configurations andso-called “autonomous” configurations in which no particular front seat22, 24 is designated to be a driver's seat. The interior 16 alsoincludes a display screen 40 integrated into the front dashboard 26, anda rear-view mirror or display 42 (which may comprise a reflectivemirror, or a display screen showing the view of a rearward-facingcamera, or both). Normally, the display screen 40 may be used tovisually display information to the driver and passengers, such asvehicle speed, gear range, fuel level, audio entertainment information,camera views, etc., but the display screen 40 may also be configured todisplay information relating to the system 20 and method 100 of thepresent disclosure, as discussed further below. The display screen 40,and optionally also the rear-view mirror/display 42, may additionallyinclude a buzzer, beeper, speaker or other device capable of producingsounds to serve as audio alerts for the occupants.

The rear-view mirror/display 42 may also include a rear-view camera orsensor 45 built into it which observes the interior 16 of the cabin. Theinterior 16 may also include one or more footwell cameras or sensors 46,which may be installed within or adjacent to one or both of the frontfootwells between the front seats 22, 24 and the front dashboard 26, andwhich may optionally be installed underneath the front dashboard 26 inthe front footwell areas. Additionally, the interior 16 may include oneor more speakers 32 installed on, within or underneath the rear deck 30(and/or at other locations within the vehicle 10, such as on or withinthe front dashboard 26, the side doors (not shown), the trunk, etc.).Each of the front seats 22, 24 may have a respective seat positionsensor 48 which detects how far forward each seat is positioned on itsseat tracks, as well as a respective set of seat occupancy sensors 50disposed across the top seat surface of each seat 22, 24. The seatoccupancy sensors 50 may be weight sensors, or they may comprise anarray which can detect localized vertical displacements of the seatsurface, or any other suitable sensors configured to detect the presenceof an occupant within the seat 22, 24. As for the exterior 18 of thevehicle 10, each of the side view mirrors 44 (which may include a leftside view mirror 44 _(L) and a right side view mirror 44 _(R)) mayinclude one or more cameras or sensors 47 (which may include a left sidecamera/sensor 47 _(L) and a right side camera/sensor 47 _(R)) which arerearward-facing. Each of the various cameras/sensors 45, 47, 46, 48, 50and displays 40, 42 may be operatively connected, directly orindirectly, to a controller 52 and a “black box” recorder 54. Thecontroller 52 may be configured to send and receive inputs, outputsand/or commands back-and-forth with each of the cameras/sensors 45, 47,46, 48, 50 and displays 40, 42, while the recorder 54 may be configuredto record data received from the cameras/sensors 45, 47, 46, 48, 50and/or from the controller 52. A wireless transmitter 55 may beoperatively connected with the controller 52 for wirelessly transmittingor broadcasting certain information, such as the status of the vehicle10 and its various systems, as well as other information discussedfurther below.

In addition to the cameras/sensors 45, 47, 46, 48, 50 discussed above,the vehicle 10 may also include additional sensors 56 and/or additionaltypes of sensors 56. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , each sensor 56may be an interior camera 58, and exterior camera a RADAR device 62, aLiDAR device 64, an ultrasonic device 66, a seat occupancy sensor 68, aseat position sensor 48, 70 or some other suitable type of sensor 72.(Note that “RADAR” stands for “radio detection and ranging”, and “LiDAR”stands for “light detection and ranging”.) Each of the sensors 56 isconfigured to sense, observe or detect one or more characteristics of anobject 11 within a vehicle 10. These characteristics include thelocation, the orientation 88, the size and/or the object type 74 of theobject 11, and the object 11 itself may be a human occupant or aphysical object within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10. Morespecifically, as illustrated by FIG. the object type 74 may be anon-human physical object 76, an infant 78 in a forward-facing infantcar seat, an infant 80 in a rearward-facing infant car seat, abooster-seated human occupant 82 (e.g., a toddler or small child sittingon a booster seat), a helmet-wearing human occupant 84 (e.g., anadolescent or an adult wearing a racing helmet) or a non-booster-seated,non-helmet-wearing human occupant 86 (e.g., a “normal” human occupant,who is not sitting on a booster seat and is not wearing a helmet).

FIG. 3 shows an alternative schematic top view of the vehicle 10 andsystem 20 of FIG. 2 , showing the beam patterns or fields of view ofvarious sensors or cameras mounted inside or outside the vehicle 10. Forexample, reference numeral 45′ indicates the beam pattern or field ofview of the rear-view camera/sensor 45, 47 _(L)′ indicates the beampattern/field of view of the left side camera/sensor 47 _(L), and 46′indicates the beam pattern/field of view of the right-front footwellcamera/sensor 46. Note that no beam pattern/field of view is shown forthe right side camera/sensor 47 _(R), but this has been done merely toavoid cluttering the drawing; in normal use, the right sidecamera/sensor 47 _(R) would also be emitting and/or receiving signalswithin its own beam patter/field of view. Note that two differentobjects 11 are illustrated in FIG. 3 ; i.e., the cross-hatched oval 11represents a driver sitting in the front-left seat 22, and thecross-hatched rectangle 11 represents a physical object resting on therear deck 30. It may also be noted that most of the interior 16 of thevehicle 10 is covered by the various sensor beams/fields of view, withsome areas of the interior 16 being covered by multiple sensorbeams/fields of view.

Utilizing the one or more sensors 56, the location, orientation 88, sizeand/or object type 74 of an object 11 (or of more than one object 11)may be determined, and an assessment made (e.g., by the controller 52)as to whether any object 11 is disposed in one or more predeterminedalertworthy dispositions 89. These alertworthy dispositions 89 arearrangements, positionings, orientations 88, locations, situations orthe like of one or more objects 11 within the interior 16 of the vehicle10 in which a human occupant is disposed or situated in an orientation,pose or location of their body that presents a likelihood or potentialfor causing or exacerbating injury to the occupant in the event of animpact event, such that this likelihood or potential is greater than apredetermined allowable likelihood or potential. In other words,alertworthy dispositions 89 are situations that present ahigher-than-normal (or a higher-than-allowable) risk of injury to humanoccupants, either due to the orientation 88, location, etc. of the humanoccupant within the vehicle 10, or due to objects inside the interior 16which block the driver's view or which can act like loose projectilesduring an impact.

The predetermined alertworthy dispositions 89 may include orientationsof an occupant's body that may present a higher likelihood than normalof injury to the occupant, in the event of a vehicle collision and theairbags being deployed. For example, as illustrated by FIG. 6 , thesedispositions 89 include the occupant having their feet resting on thefront dashboard 26 (90), the occupant's body being too close to thesteering wheel 38 (i.e., being less than a predetermined minimumdistance 39 away from the steering wheel 38) (92), the occupant notfacing forward (e.g., they are turned around and are facing rearwards)(94), or other situations or dispositions (96) as may be predetermined.However, note that the situation mentioned in the INTRODUCTION sectionabove—i.e., a detection of the eyes or head of a driver that indicatethe driver may be falling asleep—would not be considered as analertworthy disposition 89 according to the present disclosure. Thissituation (i.e., a driver falling asleep) may indeed lead to an impactevent, but it would not necessarily present a higher likelihood thannormal of injury to the occupants, in the event of a vehicle collisionand the airbags being deployed. In other words, if an impact eventoccurs and the airbags are deployed, the severity of injury caused tooccupants would likely not be any higher if the driver were momentarilyasleep than if the driver were awake, assuming all other factors beingequal. Factors that influence whether an alertworthy disposition 89exists may include not only the foregoing situations 90, 92, 94, 96, butmay also include the degree to which each situation exists; for example,how much (i.e., by how many degrees) a human occupant is turned awayfrom a forward-facing direction (where a rearward-facing direction wouldbe 180 degrees away, a left or right sideward-facing direction would be90 degrees away). Further, whether an alertworthy disposition 89 existsmay also depend on the object type 74 (or occupant type 75, asintroduced below), as well as other factors.

Once a predetermined alertworthy disposition 89 is detected (e.g., bythe controller 52), an alert may be issued so as to warn the occupantsof the detected alertworthy disposition 89. Such alerts may be visual(e.g., displayed on the display screen 40), auditory (e.g., announcedover the speakers 32 as an alerting tone or as a pre-recorded spokenvoice), vibratory (e.g., having the steering wheel 38 or seats 22, 24,28 vibrate), etc. In addition to such alerts, a suggested correctiveaction may also be given. For example, if it is detected that apassenger in the front-right seat 24 has their feet resting up on thedashboard 26, the display screen 40 and the speakers 32 may providevisual and auditory messages, respectively, that say: “The frontpassenger has their feet on the dashboard. Please remove your feet fromthe dashboard.” In this way, the driver and passengers may be alerted tosituations that present a higher likelihood of injury in the event of avehicle impact (such as from the deployment of the airbags), thusproviding the occupants with the opportunity to make corrections and tomitigate or avoid such elevated risks.

Turning now to FIG. 1 , the method 100 of detecting one or morecharacteristics of an object 11 within a vehicle 10 is illustrated inflowchart form. The method 100 begins at block 110, and includes, atblock 130, determining a location, an orientation 88, a size and/or anobject type 74 of the object 11 within the vehicle 10, using one or moresensors 56, and, at block 150, assessing whether the object 11 isdisposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition 89. As discussedabove, each of the sensors 56 may be mounted within an interior 16 ofthe vehicle 10 or on an exterior 18 of the vehicle 10. The method 100may also optionally include, at block 120, determining whether thevehicle ignition is in an “ON” state and the vehicle drivetrain is in a“DRIVE” state (e.g., in a forward gear state, not in a park, neutral orreverse gear state). Additionally, the method 100 may also optionallyinclude, at block 140, storing object information (e.g., in thecontroller 52 and/or in the “black box” recorder 54) that is indicativeof the location, orientation 88, size and/or object type 74 of theobject 11).

At block 160, a determination is made as to whether an impact event(e.g., vehicle collision) has been detected; if “yes”, then the flowproceeds on to the branch beginning with block 170, but if “no”, thenthe process flows to the branch beginning with block 200.

At block 170, an impact event has been detected, so information aboutthe object(s) 11 within the vehicle 10 is wirelessly transmitted orbroadcasted, such as to a “back office” telemetry and monitoring servicelike General Motors Corporation's OnStar® service. This objectinformation is indicative of the location, orientation 88, size and/orobject type 74 of the object 11. For example, the object information mayindicate that a normal human occupant 86 is sitting in the front-leftdriver's seat 22, and a rear-facing infant is in a car carrier in thefront passenger's seat 24. Or, as another example, the objectinformation may indicate that a normal human occupant 86 is sitting inthe front-left driver's seat 22 but is too close to the steering wheel38 (i.e., their distance away from the steering wheel 38 is less thanthe predetermined minimum distance 39), and a normal occupant 86 issitting in the front passenger's seat 24 facing sideways with their feetresting up on the dashboard 26. Optionally, the wireless transmission orbroadcast may also include event data 98, such as information regardingthe vehicle 10 and its occupants at the moment of the impact event. Forexample, event data 98 may include one or more of the vehicle speed 98s, the vehicle acceleration/deceleration 98A, the vehicle weight 98 w,seat belt engagement status information 98E (which may include theengagement status of every set of seat belts in the vehicle and airbagdeployment information 98D (which may include the deployment status ofevery airbag in the vehicle 10). Other types of impact event-relateddata may be included in event data 98 as well.

At block 180, the object information and/or event data 98 may be used todetermine an “enhanced ISP”. Here, ISP stands for “Injury SeverityPrediction”, which is a methodology known in the automotive andemergency services space for predicting the severity of injuries thatmight be sustained by occupants in a vehicle impact, based on variousfactors. Also, as used herein, an “enhanced” ISP is one that utilizesspecial factors that are not currently considered or even normallyavailable for the determination of an ISP. These special factors mayinclude the abovementioned object information—i.e., the location,orientation 88, size and/or object type 74 of the object 11 within thevehicle 10. These special factors may urge the determination of an ISPthat is different from (and thus “enhanced” in comparison to) ISPs thatare determined using presently available protocols.

At block 190, the enhanced ISP may be sent to first responders, such asfire and rescue services, paramedics, etc. This enhanced ISP may provideadditional information and forewarning to emergency services personnelthat is currently not available with presently known ISP determinationprotocols. For example, an enhanced ISP may indicate that potentialinjuries may be more or less severe than would be indicated by presentlyavailable ISPs, or the predicted injuries may be of such a nature thatspecial procedures should be followed (e.g., the injured occupant shouldbe taken to one particular hospital rather than another, an airliftshould be ordered, etc.). After block 190, the process may route toblock 320, which ends the process.

It may be noted that currently, back office telemetry and monitoringservices are typically the party which determines an ISP, and thus mayalso determine an enhanced ISP using the teachings of the presentdisclosure. Further, it is also conceivable that the vehicle 10 itselfmay determine an enhanced ISP, such as by using the controller 52 andappropriate software or programming therewith. In such cases, thevehicle 10 might also perform the sending of the enhanced ISP toavailable first responders, such as by wirelessly transmitting orbroadcasting a distress message containing the enhanced ISP, and/orcontaining some or all of the object information and event data 98.

If no impact event was detected at block 160, then the process flowroutes to block 200, where it is determined whether the object 11 isdisposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition 89; if “yes”, thenthe process flow moves on to block 210, but if “no”, then the processflow returns back to block 120 and continues. Block 210 begins a processof determining whether particular alertworthy dispositions 89 aredetected one-by-one, as represented by the four vertical branchesdownstream of block 210. At each branch, if the object 11 is assessed asbeing disposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition 89, then avisual, auditory or other alert may be provided within the vehicle 10 ofthe alertworthy disposition 89 of the object. Additionally, a visual orauditory corrective action suggestion may be provided within the vehicle10 (e.g., on the display screen 40 or over the speakers 32) formitigating the alertworthy disposition 89.

For example, at block 210, it may be determined by the sensors 56 andthe controller 52 whether an occupant has their feet up on the dashboard26. If so, then at block 220 an alert may be provided, and at block 230a suggested corrective action may be provided. However, if it is notdetected that an occupant has their feet up on the dashboard 26, then atblock 240 it may be determined whether an occupant's body is disposed orsituated too close to the steering wheel 38; if so, then at block 250 anappropriate alert may be provided, and at block 260 a correspondingcorrective action may be suggested. A similar process occurs at block270, where it may be determined whether an occupant's body is facingsideward or rearward (i.e., not forward); if that is the case, then atblock 280 an alert is provided and at block 290 a suggested correctiveaction may be provided. Finally, if no alertworthy dispositions 89 aredetermined at blocks 210, 240 or 270, then the process flow routes tothe final vertical branch at block 300, which in FIG. 1 addresses afourth of the four predetermined alertworthy dispositions 89. Similar tothe other three branches, at block 300 a visible, audible or other alertis provided, and at block 310 a visible or audible corrective action isprovided. At the end of each of the four vertical branches, the processflow routes back to block 120, and the method 100 continues to runthrough successive cycles until the flow reaches the end at block 320,or power is cut to the controller 52 or device which is executing themethod 100.

In this method 100, the one or more sensors may be at least one of aninterior camera 58 mounted within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, anexterior camera 60 mounted on the exterior 18 of the vehicle 10, a RADARdevice 62 mounted within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, a LiDARdevice 64 mounted within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, anultrasonic device 66 mounted within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, aseat occupancy sensor 68 mounted in a seat 22, 24, 28 within theinterior 16 of the vehicle 10, and a seat position sensor 48, 70 mountedin or in connection with a seat 22, 24, 28 within the interior 16 of thevehicle 10.

In the foregoing method 100, the predetermined alertworthy disposition89 may include: (i) if the object 11 is not a human occupant, then oneor more of: (a) the object 11 being disposed so as to obstruct adriver's view to the front 12, rear 13 or either side 14 of the vehicleand (b) the object 11 being disposed so as to have a substantiallikelihood of causing bodily injury to an occupant within the vehicle 10in the event of an impact event (e.g., the object 11 being capable ofacting like a projectile within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10 as aresult the impact event); or (ii) if the object 11 is a human occupant,then one or more of: (w) at least one foot of the occupant resting onthe dashboard 26, (x) a body of the occupant being less than apredetermined minimum distance 39 away from the steering wheel 38, (y)the body of the occupant facing in a non-forward direction, and (z) theoccupant being disposed in an orientation 88 and/or a location thatpresents a potential for causing or exacerbating injury to the occupantin the event of an impact event (which may include or trigger deploymentof the airbags), wherein the potential is greater than a predeterminedallowable potential.

In the method 100, the object type 74 may include one or more of anon-human physical object (76), an infant in a forward-facing infant carseat (78), an infant in a rearward-facing infant car seat (80), abooster-seated human occupant (82), a helmet-wearing human occupant(84), and a non-booster-seated, non-helmet-wearing human occupant (86).Additionally, the location of the object 11 (i.e., the physical object76 or human occupant) may be defined to be where the centroid of theobject 11 is located.

According to another configuration or embodiment as illustrated in FIG.8 , a method 100 for detecting one or more characteristics of anoccupant within an automotive vehicle 10 includes: (i) at block 130,determining one or more of a location, an orientation 88, a size and anoccupant type 75 of the occupant using one or more sensors 56, whereineach of the one or more sensors 56 is an interior camera 58 mountedwithin an interior 16 of the vehicle 10, an exterior camera 60 mountedon an exterior 18 of the vehicle 10, a RADAR device 62 mounted withinthe interior 16, a LiDAR device 64 mounted within the interior 16, or anultrasonic device 66 mounted within the interior 16; (ii) at block 150,assessing whether the occupant is disposed in a predeterminedalertworthy disposition 89; and (iii) if the occupant is assessed atblock 200 as being disposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition89, then at block 201 providing a visual or auditory alert within thevehicle 10 of the alertworthy disposition 89 of the occupant, andoptionally at block 202 providing a visual or auditory corrective actionsuggestion which corresponds to the alertworthy disposition 89.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the occupant type 75 may include one or more of aninfant in a forward-facing infant car seat (78), an infant in arearward-facing infant car seat (80), a booster-seated human occupant(82), a helmet-wearing human occupant (84), and a non-booster-seated,non-helmet-wearing (i.e., “normal”) human occupant (86). Additionally,the predetermined alertworthy disposition 89 may include one or more ofthe occupant having at least one foot resting on a dashboard 26 of thevehicle 10 (90), a body of the occupant being less than a predeterminedminimum distance 39 away from the steering wheel 38 (92), the body ofthe occupant facing in a non-forward direction (94), and the occupantbeing disposed in an orientation 88 and/or a location that presents apotential for causing or exacerbating injury to the occupant in theevent of an impact event, wherein the potential is greater than apredetermined allowable potential (96).

According to yet another embodiment, such as illustrated in FIGS. 2-3 ,a system for detecting one or more characteristics of an object 11within an automotive vehicle 10 includes one or more sensors 56 eachmounted within an interior 16 of the vehicle 10 or on an exterior 18 ofthe vehicle 10, and a controller 52 operably connected with the one ormore sensors 56. Each of the one or more sensors 56 is configured todetect one or more of a location, an orientation 88, a size and anobject type 74 of the object 11 within the interior 16 of the vehicleand the controller 52 is configured to assess whether the object 11 isdisposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition 89.

In this system 20, the one or more sensors 56 may be at least one of aninterior camera 58 mounted within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, anexterior camera 60 mounted on the exterior 18 of the vehicle 10, a RADARdevice 62 mounted within the interior 16, a LiDAR device 64 mountedwithin the interior 16, an ultrasonic device 66 mounted within theinterior 16, a seat occupancy sensor 68 mounted in a seat 22, 24, 28within the interior 16 of the vehicle 10, and a seat position sensor 48,70 mounted in or associated with a seat 22, 24, 28 within the interior16 of the vehicle 10.

Additionally in this system 20, the predetermined alertworthydisposition 89 may include: (i) if the object 11 is not a human occupant(e.g., a physical object), then one or more of: (a) being disposed so asto obstruct a view of a driver of the vehicle 10 to a front 12, a rear13 or a side 14 of the vehicle 10, and (b) being disposed so as to havea substantial likelihood of causing bodily injury to an occupant withinthe vehicle 10 in the event of an impact event; or (ii) if the object 11is a human occupant, then one or more of: (w) at least one foot of theoccupant resting on a dashboard 26 of the vehicle 10, (x) a body of theoccupant being less than a predetermined minimum distance 39 away from asteering wheel 38 of the vehicle 10, (y) the body of the occupant facingin a non-forward direction, and (z) the occupant being disposed in anorientation 88 and/or a location that presents a potential for causingor exacerbating injury to the occupant in the event of an impact event,wherein the potential is greater than a predetermined allowablepotential.

The system 20 may further include a memory 54 (e.g., a “black box”recorder) operably connected with the controller 52 and configured tostore object information indicative of the determined location,orientation 88, size and/or object type 74 of the object 11, as well asa transmitter 55 operably connected with the controller 52 andconfigured to wirelessly transmit object information indicative of thedetermined location, orientation 88, size and/or object type 74 of theobject 11. The system 20 may also include an alert device (e.g., adisplay screen 40 or speakers 32) operably connected with the controller52 and configured to provide visual or auditory alerts within thevehicle 10 of the alertworthy disposition 89 of the object 11.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. While the dimensions and types of materials describedherein are intended to be illustrative, they are by no means limitingand are exemplary embodiments. In the following claims, use of the terms“first”, “second”, “top”, “bottom”, etc. are used merely as labels, andare not intended to impose numerical or positional requirements on theirobjects. As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular andpreceded by the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excludingplural of such elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitlystated. Additionally, the phrase “at least one of A and B” and thephrase “A and/or B” should each be understood to mean “only A, only B,or both A and B”. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary,embodiments “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality ofelements having a particular property may include additional suchelements not having that property. And when broadly descriptive adverbssuch as “substantially” and “generally” are used herein to modify anadjective, these adverbs mean “mostly”, “mainly”, “for the most part”,“to a significant extent”, “to a large degree” and/or “at least 51 to99% out of a possible extent of 100%”, and do not necessarily mean“perfectly”, “completely”, “strictly”, “entirely” or “100%”.Additionally, the word “proximate” may be used herein to describe thelocation of an object or portion thereof with respect to another objector portion thereof, and/or to describe the positional relationship oftwo objects or their respective portions thereof with respect to eachother, and may mean “near”, “adjacent”, “close to”, “close by”, “at” orthe like.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the drawings illustrate thearchitecture, functionality and/or operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment or portionof code, which includes one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by hardware-based systems that performthe specified functions or acts, or combinations of hardware andcomputer instructions. These computer program instructions may also bestored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a controller orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions toimplement the functions and/or actions specified in the flowcharts andblock diagrams.

This written description uses examples, including the best mode, toenable those skilled in the art to make and use devices, systems andcompositions of matter, and to perform methods, according to thisdisclosure. It is the following claims, including equivalents, whichdefine the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for detecting one or morecharacteristics of one or more occupants including a driver within anautomotive vehicle, comprising: determining one or more of a respectivelocation, respective orientation, a respective size and a respectiveoccupant type of each of the one or more occupants within the vehicleusing one or more sensors, wherein each of the one or more sensors ismounted within an interior of the vehicle or on an exterior of thevehicle; and assessing whether any of the one or more occupants isdisposed in a predetermined alertworthy disposition; wherein thepredetermined alertworthy disposition comprises a body of the driverbeing less than a predetermined minimum distance away from a steeringwheel of the vehicle and one or more of (i) at least one foot of the oneor more occupants resting on a dashboard of the vehicle, (ii) at leastone body of the one or more occupants facing in a non-forward directionand (iii) at least one of the one or more occupants being disposed in anorientation and/or a location that presents a potential for causing orexacerbating injury to at least one of the one or more occupants in theevent of an impact event, wherein the potential is greater than apredetermined allowable potential.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: if any of the one or more occupants is assessed as beingdisposed in the predetermined alertworthy disposition, then providing avisual or auditory alert within the vehicle of the alertworthydisposition.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: providing avisual or auditory corrective action suggestion within the vehicle formitigating the alertworthy disposition.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more sensors is at least one of: an interior cameramounted within the interior of the vehicle; an exterior camera mountedon the exterior of the vehicle; a RADAR device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle; a LiDAR device mounted within the interior ofthe vehicle; an ultrasonic device mounted within the interior of thevehicle; a seat occupancy sensor mounted in a seat within the interiorof the vehicle; and a seat position sensor mounted in the seat withinthe interior of the vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theoccupant type includes one or more of: an infant in a forward-facinginfant car seat; an infant in a rearward-facing infant car seat; abooster-seated human occupant; a helmet-wearing human occupant; and anon-booster-seated, non-helmet-wearing human occupant.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further including: detecting whether a vehicle impact event hasoccurred; and if a vehicle impact event is detected, then wirelesslybroadcasting the determined respective location, orientation, sizeand/or occupant type of each of the one or more occupants.
 7. The methodof claim 6, further including: determining an enhanced injury severityprediction based on the wirelessly broadcasted respective location,orientation, size and/or occupant type of each of the one or moreoccupants; and sending the enhanced injury severity prediction to one ormore first responders.
 8. The method of claim 1, further including:storing occupant information indicative of the determined respectivelocation, orientation, size and/or occupant type of each of the one ormore occupants.
 9. The method of claim 1, further including: wirelesslytransmitting occupant information indicative of the determinedrespective location, orientation, size and/or occupant type of each ofthe one or more occupants.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein therespective location of each of the one or more occupants is a respectivelocation of a respective centroid of each of the one or more occupants.11. A method for detecting one or more characteristics of one or moreoccupants including a driver within an automotive vehicle, comprising:determining one or more of a respective location, a respectiveorientation, a respective size and a respective occupant type of each ofthe one or more occupants using one or more sensors, wherein each of theone or more sensors is an interior camera mounted within an interior ofthe vehicle, an exterior camera mounted on an exterior of the vehicle, aRADAR device mounted within the interior of the vehicle, a LiDAR devicemounted within the interior of the vehicle or an ultrasonic devicemounted within the interior of the vehicle; and assessing whether any ofthe one or more occupants is disposed in a predetermined alertworthydisposition, wherein the predetermined alertworthy disposition comprisesa body of the driver being less than a predetermined minimum distanceaway from a steering wheel of the vehicle and one or more of (i) atleast one foot of the one or more occupants resting on a dashboard ofthe vehicle, (ii) at least one body of the one or more occupants facingin a non-forward direction and (iii) at least one of the one or moreoccupants being disposed in an orientation and/or a location thatpresents a potential for causing or exacerbating injury to at least oneof the one or more occupants in the event of an impact event, whereinthe potential is greater than a predetermined allowable potential; andif any of the one or more occupants is assessed as being disposed in thepredetermined alertworthy disposition, then providing a visual orauditory alert within the vehicle of the alertworthy disposition of theone or more occupants.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the occupanttype includes one or more of: an infant in a forward-facing infant carseat; an infant in a rearward-facing infant car seat; a booster-seatedhuman occupant; a helmet-wearing human occupant; and anon-booster-seated, non-helmet-wearing human occupant.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, further including: detecting whether a vehicle impact eventhas occurred; and if a vehicle impact event is detected, then wirelesslybroadcasting the determined respective location, orientation, sizeand/or occupant type of each of the one or more occupants.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further including: determining an enhanced injuryseverity prediction based on the wirelessly broadcasted respectivelocation, orientation, size and or occupant type of each of the one ormore occupants; and sending the enhanced injury severity prediction toone or more first responders.
 15. A system for detecting one or morecharacteristics of one or more occupants including a driver within anautomotive vehicle, comprising: one or more sensors each mounted withinan interior of the vehicle or on an exterior of the vehicle, whereineach of the one or more sensors is configured to detect one or more of arespective location, a respective orientation, a respective size and arespective occupant type of each of the one or more occupants within thevehicle; and a controller operably connected with the one or moresensors and configured to assess whether any of the one or moreoccupants is disposed in a predetermined alertworthy dispositions;wherein the predetermined alertworthy disposition comprises a body ofthe driver being less than a predetermined minimum distance away from asteering wheel of the vehicle and one or more of (i) at least one footof the one or more occupants resting on a dashboard of the vehicle, (ii)at least one body of the one or more occupants facing in a non-forwarddirection and (iii) at least one of the one or more occupants beingdisposed in an orientation and/or a location that presents a potentialfor causing or exacerbating injury to at least one of the one or moreoccupants in the event of an impact event, wherein the potential isgreater than a predetermined allowable potential.
 16. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the one or more sensors is at least one of: aninterior camera mounted within the interior of the vehicle; an exteriorcamera mounted on the exterior of the vehicle; a RADAR device mountedwithin the interior of the vehicle; a LiDAR device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle; an ultrasonic device mounted within theinterior of the vehicle; a seat occupancy sensor mounted in a seatwithin the interior of the vehicle; and a seat position sensor mountedin the seat within the interior of the vehicle.
 17. The system of claim15, further comprising: a memory operably connected with the controllerand configured to store occupant information indicative of thedetermined respective location, orientation, size and/or occupant typeof each of the one or more occupants.
 18. The system of claim 15,further including: a transmitter operably connected with the controllerand configured to wirelessly transmit occupant information indicative ofthe determined respective location, orientation, size and/or occupanttype of each of the one or more one or more occupants.
 19. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising: an alert device operably connected withthe controller and configured to provide visual or auditory alertswithin the vehicle of the alertworthy disposition.
 20. The system ofclaim 15, wherein the occupant type includes one or more of an infant ina forward-facing infant car seat; an infant in a rearward-facing infantcar seat; a booster-seated human occupant; a helmet-wearing humanoccupant; and a non-booster-seated, non-helmet-wearing human occupant.